The Ice Maiden
by The Penumbra
Summary: They called her the ice maiden. Her companions stood in awe of her the villagers were terrified of her... A bitter sweet story about Sanzo's parents. Hope you like it!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki, just wish I did!!  
  
Special thanks goes to kenren thaishou for having encouraged me to rewrite the whole fic when my computer crashed and I didn't have another copy of it. thank you!! :p  
  
Here goes. a bitter sweet story. hope you like it!  
  
~.~.~  
  
The Ice maiden  
  
They called her the ice maiden.  
  
Her companions stood in awe of her; the villagers were terrified of her. Few people outside the inhabitants of the temple had ever seen Shunrei. She was said to be as beautiful as a goddess, with hair as golden as the sun itself, but with azure eyes which were as cold and expressionless as the river which flowed near the temple where she resided. She had no friends; she stood alone, proud and aloof.  
  
She had been hidden from the world since her mother, a noble woman, had brought her to the temple, when still an infant. At eighteen years of age, Shunrei was already the high priestess of the temple.  
  
~.~.~.~.~.~  
  
A dark haired youngster with striking amethyst eyes stood waiting for his turn to be added to the list of new recruits for the temple's army.  
  
Hiroshi was a good swordsman and never missed when using his bow and arrows. His parents had died recently; he had no ties, and as he had no wish to cultivate land, he had decided to enlist.  
  
Time passed, and the young man quickly got used to the daily routine. Hiroshi got on quite well with the other soldiers. He was good-hearted, though rather reserved. His superiors trusted him, as he was intelligent and loyal.  
  
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After a day's intensive training, the soldiers would gather round the fire and stories would be told. By far the most popular were the stories about her, the ice maiden. She had become a living legend, and tales were told about her looks, her voice and her lack of human emotion. Hiroshi often wondered whether it was really true that she was so beautiful and cold.  
  
Being a mere soldier, he never had a chance of ascertaining for himself whether they were only tales, until that day.  
  
~.~.~.~.~.~.  
  
Sometimes he felt that he had to get away from the camp's atmosphere and would often go for long walks along the river. There he would be alone.  
  
That day, deep in thought, he had wandered into the temple grounds, a place forbidden to men.  
  
Suddenly, he saw a slight movement in front of him. He gasped.  
  
The setting sun gave a slight tinge of red to her golden locks as they rippled in the breeze. The white robes she wore could not hide her shapely body and her elegance as she leaned on the trunk of the sakura tree.  
  
His violet eyes met her blue eyes for an instant and he nearly reeled back at the sheer force hidden in them.  
  
Shunrei beckoned to him. She was curious about his young man who had dared look upon her. Hiroshi moved forward slowly, unable of tearing his eyes away from her. The girl blushed slightly as she felt the intensity of his gaze.  
  
He smiled at her as the colour rose in her cheeks. So the ice maiden was not so emotionless after all. He staggered back as she slapped his face. "Don't smile at me!" she hissed, making as if to leave. She paused and looked at him. "I will be here tomorrow at the same time." She left and never looked back.  
  
Hiroshi remained until the trees had completely hidden his view of her. He did not know whether her words were a warning not to return, or perhaps, an invitation to meet her again.  
  
He didn't care. He was going to return, even at the risk of arousing the ice-maiden's wrath.  
  
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And that's chapter one! Please continue reading..  
  
P.S. does anyone else have trouble when trying to use italics? They don't appear when I upload!! :( 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Saiyuki.  
  
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Chapter 2  
  
They kept on meeting day after day. Sometimes they would walk along the river. At other times they would sit beside each other, listening to the wind whispering among the trees. She talked but little, and appeared content to listen to him talking about the world outside the temple walls which seemed so strange and unfamiliar to her.  
  
She rarely laughed.  
  
But when she smiled, her whole face lit up and she would become a daughter of the sun, and the beauty of the ice maiden would seem pale and insignificant. Hiroshi soon realised that his feelings for her had grown into something deeper than his initial fascination.  
  
He had come to love a woman no man could ever touch.  
  
~.~.~.~.~  
  
Things were growing restless at the camp. It seemed that they were soon to be sent to the front. The soldiers knew that they would probably not make it.. Hiroshi thought only that this would mean a long time without seeing her.  
  
They were told that they were to leave in a week's time.  
  
~.~.~.~.~  
  
That evening, when he looked at her, Hiroshi realised how much he cared for her.  
  
He told Shunrei that he loved her that night, and she listened, her golden locks covering her face. When his voice died away, she stood up and left.  
  
~.~.~.~.~  
  
Hiroshi kept returning there day after day, hoping to meet her at least once before he would have to leave. But she never came.  
  
He cursed himself, his tongue, and his foolishness, but he cursed her most of all. She had not even spoken to him. He raged against her, thinking bitterly that she deserved the title of the ice maiden. Hiroshi wished for death, to ease the pain of losing her. If only he had not told her about his love, he would have at least seen her again for another few days.  
  
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He returned there for the last time. He sat beneath the sakura tree where they had first met, memories of the time passed together filled his mind. Hiroshi was enraged to find tears in his eyes. He tried to stop but could not, and sobs shook his body, as he cried, hating himself. He had thought he was a man, but he was still a boy.  
  
"Hiroshi."  
  
Only she could speak in such melodious tones. But he had lost her for ever.  
  
"Hiroshi."  
  
He lifted his head wearily, wondering whether he would be tormented by the sound of her voice for eternity. Then he saw Shunrei standing there in front of him, holding out her hand to him.  
  
"Hiroshi. I love you too."  
  
~.~.~.~.~.~.~  
  
They made love under the moonlight, and lay in each other's arms until the first rays of the sun appeared at the horizon. Their happiness was tinged with sorrow, as they knew that he would soon leave.  
  
They parted beneath the sakura tree. She stood waiting until she could see him no more, then turned back to go to the temple, her prison, with her heart filled with sadness.  
  
~.~.~.~.~.~  
  
The news of his death came a month later. He had been returning home with the rest of the remaining troops, when a group of surviving youkai had attacked them.  
  
Hiroshi died with the image of a golden haired girl in front of him, and her name on his lips.  
  
When she heard of his death, amongst that of many others, Shunrei, gave no sign of sorrow.  
  
Later that day, the high priestess went down to the river, as she was want to do every day.  
  
Hiroshi was dead.  
  
The ice maiden wept.  
  
Shunrei wept for him, she wept for herself, but mostly she wept for the child who was yet to come. She had broken her vow of chastity, and now she bore his child.  
  
~.~.~.~.~.~  
  
Her flowing robes helped her escape detection from prying eyes for some time. No one knew of her pregnancy until her two old nursemaids entered into her rooms while she was bathing.  
  
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~  
  
The ice maiden was ill! It was said to be a terrifying disease..perhaps she was in danger of dying.. Rumours spread quickly round the temple, accounting for the sudden seclusion of the High priestess. Only Sonoko and Kayede, her two servants were allowed near her. No one else could enter into her private apartments, under the pain of death.  
  
~.~.~.~.~.~.~  
  
Shunrei kept to her rooms, thinking about Hiroshi, dreaming about their child.  
  
She loved it, yet she hated it. She wanted to tear it out of her body, hide it so that no one would ever know of her weakness, her sin. She hated it because it reminded her of the dead.  
  
Yet she loved it, as through it, part of him would live. At times, Shunrei found herself longing for the child. She yearned to touch it, speak to it, and give it the love she never knew she could give.  
  
She knew that she would leave the temple when she would have given birth to the child. She was determined to work, and raise it herself. All her hate was soon turned into love for the human being who grew inside her, and who symbolised her undying love for Hiroshi.  
  
~.~.~.~.~.~.~  
  
It was a long and painful birth, and the two women were terrified that Shunrei would not make it. At last the child was born, but Shunrei fainted before she could see her son; the girl was exhausted.  
  
When she regained consciousness, Sonoko was sitting beside her. The mother asked for her child.  
  
"I'm sorry," whispered the old woman, not meeting her eyes, "but your child was born dead." She stopped, unable to continue.  
  
Shunrei's face lost any colour and she opened her mouth, but no sound was heard. She tried to move, but Sonoko held her. Tears trickled down her cheeks but she made no movement to wipe them away. For the second time in her life, the ice maiden wept.  
  
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Kayede hurried down to the river with a bundle clutched tightly in her arms. She glanced around making sure that no one was there and she placed the child in a cane basket which was on the river bank. Golden locks covered the newborn's head, and the woman felt a surge of pity and fear as innocent violet eyes met hers.  
  
She hesitated before leaving the child to the mercy of the current. Taking a chain of rosary beads Shunrei had once given her, she placed it in the basket together with the child. Kayede bent down and kissed his forehead.  
  
"That is from the mother you will never meet," she murmured, as she caressed his head, "Forgive us child. may the Lord lead you to safety."  
  
The cane basket was swept away by the current as the old woman walked slowly to the temple, her heart full of guilt and sorrow for what she had done.  
  
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	3. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki.  
  
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EPILOGUE  
  
The voice grew stronger every day, calling for him...  
  
Komyou Sanzo looked down at the river when a sudden movement caught his eye. A cane basket with a bundle inside was trapped between two rocks. Something was moving underneath the white cloth and he though he heard a small cry.  
  
His heart beat a little faster as he shifted the cloth.  
  
A pair of large violet eyes stared back into his.  
  
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THE END.. I hope you liked my story! If you did (and even if you didn't) please review :-)  
  
Thanks to all for reading it!! 


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